Cats recent behavior

Question
I have a 5 year old calico cat who has never had a problem using her litter box.  About 6 weeks ago she began defecating on the carpet and not the box.  She does use the box for urinating but absolutely refuses to use it for pooping.  I bought an electrical litter box thinking this might help, but it did not change her behavior at all.  She is very healthy although overweight, weighing probably 23 pounds now.  About a year ago I moved her from Colorado to California (she flew), but she didn't seem to have a problem with the change.  My fiance' and I do work a lot and go out of town a lot, but there is always someone to check in on her while we are gone.  We work 12 hour shifts, so she does spend a lot of time alone.  Do you think this could be an acting out behavior?  We were thinking about getting a kitten to keep her company, but she is so jealous of any other animals that we are afraid she may develop worsening behaviors.  Could you PLEASE help us, we are at our wits end!  Thank you!

Answer
Hello there.

You need to make a trip to a cats only vet.

Have a full exam and fecal run, as well as some bloodwork.

Litterbox problems are usually NOT behavioral. They are 90% medical. Yes they can have aversions to the box, especially if you only have 1 box. Rule of thumb for cats is 1 box per cat, PLUS 1 extra. SO you should have 2 boxes in the house.

Scoop 2x's per day
NO pine or wood litter, CLAY or NON scented scoop only.

Also use a feliway diffuser in the house to ensure that its NOT stress.

Good luck!